Members of the opposition party shouted slogans during a protest in New Delhi, Sept. 7, 2012.

The constant shouting in India’s Parliament, which has brought the legislative machinery to a standstill, has come at great cost.

There were 101 pending bills before the Parliament at the start of the monsoon session, which ended Friday, according to PRS Legislative Research. The government had listed 30 bills to be passed during the session.

Instead, legislators managed to pass only four bills. Out of these, the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Bill, 2012, was the only bill that was both introduced as well as passed in the current session. The other three were brought over from previous sessions.

In contrast, the budget session held from March 12 to May 22 managed to pass 21 bills, PRS Legislative Research said. Such a logjam is costly for a nation that is trying to tackle a plethora of issues from slowing growth to social welfare.

Unsurprisingly, both parties in the debacle – the governing Congress party and opposition Bharatiya Janata Party – blamed the other for the mess.

BJP officials said its disruption of Parliament through shouting was justified given the alleged rampant corruption in the Congress-led coalition.

“Obstruction in Parliament can sometimes become a legitimate tool for accountability,” said Nalin Kohli, a BJP party member. “This is one such rare case.”

The ruckus began when India’s federal auditor – known by its acronym CAG - claimed in a report last month that the government lost $33 billion in potential revenues by allocating coal blocks to private companies at cut-price rates without a public auction. News this week that the nation’s federal investigative body is now looking into a possible criminal conspiracy around the coal block allocations has added kindling to the fire.

The Congress party, which denies wrongdoing in the coal saga, retorts the BJP’s actions have undermined India’s democratic system.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, speaking to reporters Friday, said: “This is a negation of democracy.” Also Friday, the handlers of his official Twitter account tweeted, “We have just ended a wasted session of Parliament when both Houses were not allowed to function.” Another tweet said: “Opposition saw fit to demand my resignation before Parliament was even allowed to take a view on the CAG report.”

Debate over a bill to reserve certain government jobs for India’s lower castes spilled over into fist-fighting on the floor of the Upper House on Wednesday, likely further demeaning politicians in the eyes of voters. That fight didn’t involve members of Congress party or BJP.

“The Parliament has become almost insignificant,” said Narendra Kumar, head of political science department at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University. Lawmakers are only concerned with politicking, he added, not finding solutions to the problems of the common man.

Adjournment of Parliament is not uncommon. In the past, contentious issues like graft in the allocation of 2G telecom licenses or attempts to set up an anti-graft watchdog, or Lokpal, have disrupted parliamentary proceedings.

But this session was disrupted for 13 straight days out of 20 possible working days, much worse than any recent disruption.

In a column in The Indian Express, Inder Malhotra said: “Distressingly, disruption and debasement of Parliament, at the hands of its own members, began decades ago and has steadily worsened over the years.”

Enmity between BJP and Congress, he added, has grown to such an extent that “basic norms and decencies, without which the parliamentary system just cannot function, are no longer being followed.”

Some experts believe the current political impasse is likely to continue. “I don’t see the winter session is going to be any smooth,” said Mr. Kumar. The brouhaha in the Parliament also portends turbulent times in the upcoming national elections scheduled for May 2014.

The opposition National Democratic Alliance, led by the BJP, views the current troubles as a chance to strengthen its position before those polls. This, however, could be a risky strategy.

“Parties may gain politically in the short run by using disruption as the language of parliamentary protest,” noted columnist Neerja Chowdhury in the Daily News and Analysis. “But in the long run, it makes neither for the health of our democratic institutions, nor does it enhance the badly depleted credibility of our politicians and this should worry the entire political class.”

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.